Ohio State, UC Irvine players named Co-National Freshman of Week

Two freshmen who helped lead their teams to wins against top-10 nationally ranked programs are earning a share of a national award.

Off the Block announced Monday that Ohio State opposite Jake Hanes and UC Irvine outside attacker Joel Schneidmiller were selected as the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Co-National Freshman of the Week.

Hanes had a match-high 16 kills on a .429 attack percentage and added three blocks as No. 3/5 Ohio State swept No. 8/8 Penn State on Sunday. He also had a season-high 19 kills while hitting .471 in a sweep versus St. Francis on Thursday.

Schneidmiller had a combined 34 kills in a two-match series sweep against No. 5/3 BYU, including a match-high 19 kills on a .424 attack percentage in the series-finale five-game victory on Saturday. In addition, Schneidmiller led all players with seven blocks in a four-game win to open the non-conference series on Friday.

Both Hanes and Schneidmiller are the third players in their program histories to win the National Freshman of the Week since the award began in 2014.

The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week is presented each week during the regular season to the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball freshman who had the most outstanding performance. The winner is announced every Monday during the regular season on the Off the Block website, offtheblockblog.com.

Each of the five NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball conferences have an opportunity each week to nominate one player for the National Freshman of the Week. In addition, fans and teams can nominate a player for the National Freshman of the Week by tweeting their nominee to the official Twitter account of Off the Block, @offtheblock11.

Off the Block is a website that started in January 2011 and has become the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.

Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the 2017 Freshmen All-American Team and National Freshman of the Week and produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.

National Freshman of the Week honorable mentions

Tyler Mitchem, Lewis — Mitchem had a match-high seven blocks and added nine kills on a .533 attack percentage in a four-game victory against No. 9/9 CSUN on Thursday. The middle attacker also contributed five kills and four blocks in a four-game win versus No. 15 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.

Alvaro Gimeno, NJIT — Gimeno finished with both a match-high 15 kills on a .609 attack percentage and three aces in a sweep against Lindenwood on Thursday.

Luke Visgitis, Mount Olive — Visgitis had eight kills and zero errors on a .889 attack percentage in a sweep against Erskine on Saturday.

Simon Anderson, Long Beach State — Anderson finished with a match-high seven blocks and added three kills in a sweep against Stanford on Friday. The middle attacker also led all players with four blocks and added six kills to help No. 1/1 Long Beach State sweep No. 13 USC on Saturday.

Jaylen Jasper, Stanford — Jasper finished with a match-high 12 kills in a three-game loss to No. 1/1 Long Beach State on Friday.